Roads were open as normal again on Tuesday, after a wildfire close to Rome's ring road filled the air with thick smoke, causing temporary closures.
Traffic backed up between the Pontina and Laurentina exits, near exit 25, and along the A24 motorway between Togliatti and the ring road as the fire burned on Sunday.
Firefighters had brought the blaze under control by Monday, while forestry police (carabinieri forestali) were still investigating the cause.
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In the early hours of Tuesday morning another fire started in Velletri, southeast of Rome, in a building undergoing renovation works. Firefighters put out the blaze and evacuated 13 families as a precaution, according to Rai News. Three people were hospitalised with smoke inhalation.
Another fire broke out around 4.30am along Via Tiberina. The flames engulfed an illegal landfill and an abandoned industrial structure, making the blaze difficult to extinguish.
With another heatwave expected over the coming days, the risk of wildfires remains high.
The civil protection department, which responds to wildfires and other emergencies, said it had recorded 569 fires across Lazio since the region's wildfire prevention campaign began on June 15th.
Rome was the worst-hit city in the region, recording 259 of those fires, followed by Latina with 166, Frosinone with 94, Viterbo with 33 and Rieti with 17.
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Fires reported in Lazio jumped 20 percent over the weekend of July 25th and 26th, compared with the total recorded in six weeks since the start of the region's wildfire campaign on June 15th.
High temperatures and winds of up to 50km per hour helped fires spread quickly, Massimo La Pietra, the region's civil protection director, said at a briefing on the campaign, as reported by RomaToday.
He cited the blaze on the GRA as an example of how these conditions had "helped the flames take hold.”
The risk of new wildfires will remain high throughout the week, according to a bulletin released by the Lazio region.
People can call 112 to report a fire or contact the Rome civil protection department at 800 854 854
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